If you are serious about training boxing at home, you need some basic stuff. Here are the 4 things I recommend, without which you just can’t build a legit home boxing gym:
This Freestanding punching bag available on Amazon. The heavy bag work is the most famous boxing exercise. That’s because it’s very useful and simple – you don’t need a sparring partner or a coach, just a stable punching bag. The exercises on the heavy bag are really effective in preparing you for a real fight. They help you increase your punching power and improve your technique. If you want to train boxing and to become good at it, you definitely need a heavy bag.
These Jump rope on Amazon.com. You probably have seen many times how the professional boxers do jump rope workouts. That’s because such exercises can really improve the footwork, the speed and the timing of a boxer. They are also great for the cardio and the conditioning. The benefits from the rope jumping are quite a bit. So it’s completely worth it to spend around $10 for a nice sized and durable rope.
These light weights on Amazon.com The shadowboxing is one of the best boxing exercises. It helps you improve your technique, movement, and speed. But shadowboxing with light weights is even better because it provides resistance and strengthens your shoulders and back muscles. After a shadowboxing workout with weights, you will feel your hands lighter and faster. For me, the shadowboxing with weights helped me improve my defense. The resistance provided by the weights taught me to keep my guard up. I highly recommend including this exercise in your workout routine.
Heavy bag
The bag I recommend is the Century Original Wavemaster Freestanding Heavy Punching Bag (click to see on Amazon). I like the freestanding bags because unlike the hanging ones you don’t have to hang them from the ceiling (which can be a pain in the butt). They are much easier to set up (you just need to fill them with sand or water). The Century Wavemaster free standing bag, weights between 250-300 pounds (depending on the material with which you fill it). So it’s not easily moved. It’s easier to fill it with water, but I personally prefer the sand because it’s heavier and the bag is much more stable.
If the bag still moves when you punch it, you can use a rubber matt beneath it, like this one on Amazon.com. Thus, even if you are a heavy puncher, the bag will be stable, when you working on it, and you won’t need to chase it around the room.
I also like this freestanding heavy bag, because of its height adjustment. Regardless of how tall or short you are, you can easily adjust the bag, and start working.
Jump Rope
It may look simple to just go and buy a jumping rope but there are three things you need to consider before buying one:
Length – Before starting using it, you just can’t know what is the best rope length for you. The jumping rope that I recommend is the Survival and Cross Jump Rope (click to check the price on Amazon) . I like it because it offers adjustable length, so it’s suitable for everyone (as long as you are under 6’6. If you are taller than 6’6, you will probably need a longer rope).
Easy to use – The Cayman Fitness jump rope is great for beginners because of its light and comfortable grips. You literally can jump hours without getting your hands tired.
Durability – The first jumping rope I bought was the cheapest one I found in the shop. The problem was that after two days the grip just splits open and breaks from the rope… Since then I really value the durability. And that’s why I recommend the Cayman Fitness jump rope – it’s really sturdy and durable. I bought it 6 months ago and its still holding up beautifully.
Weights
A basic 3-5 lb weights like these on Amazon.com can be really useful for your workout. Like I mentioned above, shadowboxing with light weights helps you improve your technique and conditioning. But you need to be careful when doing weight exercises (even with light weights) because you can easily overtrain. Here are some tips on how to use the weights properly:
Don’t use heavy weights – Everything more than 5 pounds is too much for a shadowboxing workout. Because it’s harder to control the heavier weights. Also, the more heavy weights you are using the more your technique suffers and the better the chance is to get muscle soreness. Everything between 3-5 lb is just fine.
Switch exercises – When I do shadowboxing workout, what I like to do is one round (3 minutes) shadowboxing with weights and then switching to no weights for one round. Totally, I do around 6-8 rounds. Thus my muscles have enough time to recuperate and there isn’t a chance to overtrain them.
Don’t use weights while fatigued – It’s much better to do the weight exercises at the beginning of the workout (after you warmed up), otherwise, you can really overtrain your muscles. At the end of your workout, I recommend doing some light cardio or stretching exercises.
What you also need
Regardless of where you train (in the gym or at home), if you do heavy bag work, you will need a pair of good gloves. Here are my recommended gloves for training and sparring.
If you have enough space in your home and also a sparring partner, you can practice sparring. But then you will need some basic gear to protect yourselves and avoid injuries. Take a look at my top picks for sparring and training at a gym.